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FEBRUARY 5 - SAN SEBASTIÁN
FINALLY! We made it to the mythical mountain village of San Sebastián. Was it all that it was cracked to be? You bet, and more. Its full name is San Sebastián del Oestè (San Sebastián of the West - I guess the San Sebastián in Spain would be ‘of the East’). Founded as a silver mining town in 1605, it is a very old town. In its mining heyday, it swelled to a population of 20,000. Today, it is a deliciously sleepy town of 1,000. Sitting at an altitude of nearly 5,000 feet, it is a bit cooler than the inland areas near the coast. It is still hard to beat the ocean breezes right next to the ocean.
To catch the 9 am ATM Red Bus from the Las Glorias neighborhood of Puerto Vallarta, we had to catch the Bucerias to Las Glorias bus at 7:30 am. The ATM Red Bus station, officially called ATM Transportes Guadalajara Talpa Mascota, is challenging to find. It is a small gated lot barely large enough to hold two buses tucked away on a back street (Address: Calle Havre 111). As the name implies, the buses go to Guadalajara, Talpa, Mascota, and a vast array of towns in between. Interestingly, the road it takes is not a modern super highway. It is a back-country winding two-lane affair with plenty of switchbacks and jungle overlooks. Once in the mountains, I began to notice how pristine everything was.
|  | The ATM Red buses. The bus station is located on the corner of Calle Havre and Lucerna in the Las Glorias neighborhood of the Hotel Zone of Puerto Vallarta. | The bus schedule from Puerto Vallarta to Talpa. There are several stops along the way, including La Estancia. | The return bus schedule. We caught the 16:30 (4:30 pm) bus in La Estancia to return to Puerto Vallarta. | |
The bus does not go directly to San Sebastián. La Estancia is the closest town to San Sebastián. It takes nearly 2 hours to reach La Estancia. From there, you must find a taxi or someone pretending to be a taxi to drive the final 10 miles. We met a friendly couple at the bus station that was also going to San Sebastián. In La Estancia, we found a guy willing to drive all four of us for 50 pesos each. This turned out to be a good deal. The official taxis charge 100 pesos each.
The ride from La Estancia to San Sebastián is on a surprisingly nice road. The first 2/3rds of the road has a brand new smooth blacktop surface. The remaining 1/3 is an old cement surface, but still in good shape. I was expecting a mountain goat trail.
As we entered San Sebastián, I was struck by the town's cleanliness. It had the usual crumbling infrastructure as all Mexican towns have, but being so pristinely cleaned up, the infrastructure somehow appeared quaint, charming, and old-worldish.
|  | The mountain region as we approached San Sebastián. | Welcome to San Sebastián del Oestè. | We met the couple on the left at the bus station in Puerto Vallarta. Our taxi driver is on the right. | |
Being our first trip to San Sebastián, we walked as much of the town as possible to gather intelligence. We scoped out restaurants, priced a lovable hotel, walked up a dirt mountain road, and sampled some local liquors.
Speaking of local liquors, I have to start with Raicilla. We all know that tequila is made from the infamous Blue Agave plant. Mescal is a generic term for distilled drinks from other Agave plants. Raicilla has a more interesting history. It is the moonshine of the Mescals. Made in the state of Jalisco by farmers, it was outlawed for many years. Recently, it has become a legitimate part of Mexican lore. Distilleries are now allowed to make it. Typically it is produced using two varieties of Agave that grow in Jalisco: Lechuguilla and Puta do Mula. Raicilla tends to be sweeter and fruitier than most Mescals.
Nite is another local drink. It is a flavored drink using Raicilla as the base liquor. As far as I know, it comes in three different flavors and is only made in San Sebastián. I sampled all three and bought a small bottle of the best. It has an odd but unique flavor and is for sipping only.
|  | This is an interesting little shop with an odd mix of products - Coffee, ice cream, egg nog, beer, raicilla, and Nite (pronounced nee-tay). | A local concoction - Nite. It comes in three flavors. All three have a medicinal flavor. | Cheers from Rincon San Buenaventura. | |
We stopped at a tiny second-story cafe overlooking the plaza for a snack, looked over our Google map, and made a plan of attack. Besides roaming the streets, I had hoped to go up to the peak of La Bufa, the tallest mountain overlooking San Sebastián. It turned out to be several miles straight up. We would need a taxi, and it looked like it would be an all-day excursion.
Next time we come to San Sebastián, we will have to stay the night at a hotel. Finding a hotel for a future return engagement was added to our list to do’s.
| The entrance to the second-story cafe that we stopped at. | The long steep stairway to the cafe. These stairs would not pass inspection in Wisconsin. | Our noon snack: Raicilla in the shot glass, cheesy nachos, coffee, a jar of jalapenos, and a chocolate frappe. | The view from our cafe table. | I noticed on Google maps that a road led up the mountains to another overlook. It was only 2 miles away. We decided to hike up that road. When we got 2/3rds of the way, we found the perfect overlook for some photos. That was good enough. We shot the photos and headed back down. | San Sebastián as we walk up the dirt road. | The dirt road leaving town. We walked nearly two miles up the mountain. | One of the hairpin turns on the dirt road. | When we came off the mountain, it was time to do some serious zig-zagging. The town isn’t very large, so we were able to cover most of it in a couple of hours. It had an old-world Spanish quality to it. We were reminded of several Spanish villages that we have toured. The tiny shops were very different. They were quaint, a little quirky, and touristy but on the higher end of the spectrum. All the buildings, streets, and alleys are old but well-preserved and pristine. | The gazebo is in the center of the town plaza. | A small market along the sidewalk that goes around the plaza. | Although the buildings and infrastructure were ancient, the town was clean and charming. | The little shops contributed to the old-world vibe. Many shops specialize in local products as in this shop. We bought a small baggie of guava candies that were most likely produced in Talpa, the guava-producing center in Mexico. Three years ago, we went to Talpa, which is even deeper in the mountains, and saw the many primitive guava factories. | The hotel, restaurant, and bar business is the mainstay of the San Sebastián economy. | A statue commemorating the historical importance of the silver miner. San Sebastián began in 1605 and was a silver mining community. | When we poked around the courtyard of Hotel Del Pozo, the gregarious owner offered to show us around. The room he showed us was small but very cute. The room included a bathroom and a small balcony. It looked like a winner at 800 pesos a night ($42.50 US). | We were given a tour of the Del Pozo Hotel. Rooms cost 800 pesos ($42.50 US) a night. | The owner showed us one of his rooms. | The little balcony attached to the room. | It is the Hotel's tradition to get a kissing photo within the frame, and we respect traditions. | |
Finding a taxi to return to La Estancia was easy. When we first arrived at the central plaza, we were introduced to a guy in a bright orange vest. He is the person to contact about getting a taxi. At 3:30 pm, we told him that we wanted to catch the 4:30 bus in La Estancia. He called a taxi driver and told us to be ready at 4 pm. A couple of minutes before 4 pm, the taxi drove up. Fortunately, two more ladies shared the taxi with us so we could share the cost.
The taxi dropped us off at La Estancia at 4:20 pm. The bus rolled up about 15 minutes later. It was another 2 1/2 hours and two buses to finally get home. It was a great trip, but we will go for a day or two next time.
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